A fresh squeeze of Juice Beauty

Karen Behnke became pregnant with her first child about the time she noticed the first lines on her face, at age 40.

The California entrepreneur turned her attention from corporate wellness programs, which she had spent years designing, to personal care products.

"The first time I looked at a beauty product label, I thought, oh, my gosh, almost everything that has been banned from food is in these products," said Behnke, who is married to a physician. "Over 64 percent of what we put on our body is absorbed into the body. A lot of data supports that."

After having her second child at age 42, Behnke founded Juice Beauty, a line that prides itself on high-efficacy, certified organic solutions. Most beauty lines trade one of those descriptors for the other.

Juice Beauty products meet some of the country's most stringent organic standards, set by the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Organic Program, the nonprofit NSF International or the California Organic Products Act. "Juice products are up to 98 percent total organic content," Behnke said. "The lowest in our skin care is 85 percent; in our color line the minimum is 75 percent."

Juice's Age-Defy and Blemish Clearing products have shown up to an 85 percent reduction in free radical skin cell damage and 94 percent blemish clearing in four weeks in clinical testing by the same outside laboratory used by several major conventional brands. Behnke attributes that effectiveness, in part, to results of other research indicating that the antioxidant levels are about 30 percent higher in produce farmed organically versus conventionally. (See organic-center.org/reportfiles/AntioxFinal.pdf).

When Behnke started out, she swore off two ingredients typical of most beauty products.

•Glycols (butylene and propylene), "which are petroleum based," she said. "If you think of Vaseline, it feels slick, but it's really suffocating skin." The American Academy of Dermatologists links propylene glycol to skin irritations, dermatitis, eczema and hives.

•Water, which is often the first ingredient in beauty products. "So you're paying a lot for water," Behnke said, "which also dilutes the powerful ingredients."

She looked to organic botanicals and juices such as goji berry, acai berry, jojoba and grape seed.

Juice Beauty launched skin care products about eight years ago, earning shelf space in Ulta and Whole Foods stores. Juice Beauty's Green Apple Peel ($39-$45, ulta.com) is a best-seller for the brand, lightening sun spots without hydroquinone (which some studies have linked to cancer risk). Color cosmetics were introduced this year and include a pressed powder as part of a capsule collection endorsed by vegan actress Alicia Silverstone.

Juice follows other eco-friendly practices. Eighty percent of the manufacturing uses solar power. Packaging is recycled/recyclable paper and soy ink. Ingredients are sourced from California and Washington state. There are no artificial dyes or fragrances, which some studies link to endocrine-system disruption.

There are a few trade-offs. The mascara and eyeliner need a few more seconds to dry than some conventional options. The shelf life of products is shorter, typically two years versus five. Behnke said Juice has calibrated production to limit waste.

For the holidays, Juice Beauty has put together a foursome of berry-fresh lip glosses, with sesame and grape seed oils, $15 individually but $36 as a set.